28. Maelstrom
Hei og velkommen til Norge! Displaying a traditional Stave church and a number of interconnected shops in four styles of Norwegian architecture, the Norway pavilion is more than just about the viking. It's also about................................................................trolls. Vikings and trolls. And a storybook buffet.
REGARDLESS, the main attraction of the most recent addition(built in 1988) to the World Showcase is really the closest thing to a thrill ride here. And considering the only other ride is the Three Caballeros Small Mexican World Adventure, it's nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnot saying much. Originally a ride exclusively about trolls, the Norwegian sponsors asked they include other aspects of Norway.
Aboard a Viking ship, the boat slowly climbs a ramp, the guests' view staring directly into the eye of Odin, as he(or possibly someone else???) speaks of the history of Norway. Passing by scenes of early Norwegian villages and Vikings sailing the seas, Maybe-Odin tells of how the myths and legends of trolls living in the swamps still live on to this day.
Leading obviously into a troll-infested swamp, an enraged three-headed troll casts a spell on the boat, sending it backwards over the falls. The falls, if you don't know, are featured outside the ride and look like this:
It's not really a huge drop, but the pool isn't really deep, so it would cause some problems.
Rushing past scenes of puffins and polar bears(??????), the boat slowly inches towards the falls, ready to plunge you into the outside, before......I dunno, the spell wears off or something? The boat turns around, only to reveal a bigger drop right into the North Sea. Falling fast, the ride drops you into a stormy sea, surrounded by massive oil rigs. Finally the boat pulls into the dock of a modern fishing village, as Possibly-But-Maybe-Not-Odin declares the spirit of Norway was, is and always will be adventure.
Then you watch a short film about modern(1988) Norway. Or you don't, because the doors are open and you can just walk right past, walking in front of everyone like a rude jerk(which is what I do). Then you go into all the shops and that's the Maelstrom.
There are no ducks on this ride.
This is my favorite ride at Epcot because it is so cheesy and wonderful! (Well since they took out Figment cause that shit was awesome) I didn't find this out until a couple trips ago, but it always confused the fuck out of me why you didn't go down the falls and who that random ass troll you have pictured was. Well that fun little fellow is what saves you! He serves a purpose indeed! I was reading this in Algebra and now in rehearsal, your blog is awesome!
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